


Rendition

by prpldragon50



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Bromance, Claustrophobia, Danny Angst, Fear, Gen, Gun Violence, Possible Paralysis, Rendition, Steve Whump, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 09:42:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9602192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prpldragon50/pseuds/prpldragon50
Summary: Danny is trapped down in rendition with a gravely injured Steve and a psychopathic serial murderer who just won't die.  With no clear way out and the Palace completely locked down, how will he handle it?.I am not a medical expert in any way.This story inspired in part by Junkyard by Irene Claire...at least the claustrophobic essence of the story.  Thank you for all your inspiration, Irene Claire!





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is a short take on Danny's claustrophobic tendencies and how I think he will handle it, especially with Steve gravely injured. I hope you enjoy the whump.

** Rendition **

****

            Danny looks around the room, trying to keep from pulling his gun and shooting this suspect in the head. 

            “We have five bodies in the morgue.  You have admitted to killing six.  Tell us who the last one is and where we can find the body.”  He demands, glaring at the suspect. 

            Steve, standing off to the side, is enjoying watching his partner interrogate the killer.  They had managed to catch this guy as he went back to ‘visit’ one of his kills.  They had found the bodies and forensics showed he liked to come back, visit and relive his kills.  They had staked out each burial site and finally got him.  Looking at him now, Steve feels the anger and disgust toward this monster he felt when he’d first caught the case. 

            A young woman had called in the first find.  She had been walking her dog and the mutt had uncovered the victim.  It had been weeks since he had been there so there was no danger he would be back.  It wasn’t until the second was found, completely by accident again, that they knew they had a serial on their hands.  It had taken weeks but the found the other dump sites and in leaving those alone, they were able to catch him.  So here they are, trying to find out where the last victim lies so they can put this case to rest; hand him over to the HPD and the PA.  Move on to the next case, as usual. 

            It’s everything in him to keep from beating the information out him.  But, he’d agreed to allow Danny to try and pull it out “peacefully” and he can see his partner is getting frustrated and pissed off. 

            The suspect smiles, shifting in the chair, looking from one to the other.  “Are you sure it’s the last one?” 

            “Idiot…you admitted there were six bodies.  We have five.  So yeah, that would make number six the last one.”  The sarcasm and annoyance coming in loud and clear in his voice. 

            Steve turns to the wall to keep Danny from seeing him smile and avoid pissing him off even more. 

            “Still not sure number six is the last victim of mine.” He states, his voice smooth and creepy. 

            “All right.  I’m done here Steve.  You do what you want.  I’m tired of this cryptic shit this guy is dealing.”  He turns to the door, ready to walk out and let Steve do what he does best. 

            Seeing his best chance, the suspect moves quickly, leaping out of the chair, having picked both cuffs, reaches for and grabs the gun at the Commander’s waist, standing tall as Steve turns to him, surprise on his face.  The suspect, giving only the name Akua, hooks his finger in the trigger guard and squeezes.  He watches the Commander’s face closely as the look of surprise turns to shock and then pain.  He feels the recoil of the weapon as the bullet discharges into the taut flesh of the man’s abdomen and he breathes in deeply, the smile on his face getting bigger.  He feels the heat of the discharge and the spatter of blood onto his hand as the bullet enters the soft flesh of the abdomen where it will do the most damage.  His eyes roll back in his head as the Commander falls away from him and a wet gurgle escapes his throat as in sexual release.  He forgets for a moment, a deadly moment, that he is not alone and when he does remember, it’s too late.

            Danny, hearing the scrape of the chair, his hand half an inch from the keypad, turns quickly, but not quickly enough to stop the nightmare he witnesses.  He pulls his P30 from its holster, bringing it to bear on Akua as he hears Steve’s SIG discharge and watches as he backs away sliding to the floor, a large, red stain appearing on his shirt.  Working on instinct alone, he squeezes the trigger, hitting Akua in the middle of his back as he hears the gurgle come out of his mouth.  Danny shivers as he realizes what that sound is and moves swiftly, kicking the gun out of Akua’s hand as he turns, not going down from the bullet in his back.  He brings his gun hand down across Akua’s face, knocking him down, but not out.  Determined to take this guy down, he brings his foot down on his head, not caring if he survives or not.  Repeating the move, he sees the blood pouring out Akua’s nose and he’s satisfied he’s out. 

            Steve hears all the noise around him but is having a hard time focusing on what’s happening.  The whooshing in his ears as his blood pumps harder and faster blocks out almost all sound and the pain in his gut blocks out all else.  His wide eyes look down and he sees his hand coated in red as it rests over the wound.  He raises his head and sees Danny coming toward him, larger than life and then only pain as his partner places his hands over Steve’s and the wound. 

            _It can’t be that bad, can it?  I mean, no, it can’t happen this way.  I can’t be taken out by some psycho in my own building; in the room I set up for a specific purpose…so this can never happen.  And how the hell did he get out of the cuffs?_

“Steve!?  Come on, buddy, look at me!”  Danny kneels down, placing his hands over the gushing wound in his partner’s stomach.  He tries to get Steve to focus on his face but he can’t help but look down at his hands, which are already coated in blood.  “Don’t do this, buddy.  Don’t you dare die on me here!  Not in this room.  Not at the hands of this bastard!”  He presses harder, knowing that he needs to staunch the bleeding until help can get here.  He looks up at the cameras, hoping someone has already called the EMT’s when he hears a sound that makes his blood curdle.  The alarms.  The failsafe, un-hackable, unbreakable security system that Steve had put in after the last time the Palace was taken hostage.  He hears the doors locks click and wonders what’s gonna happen now. 

            He doesn’t have time to think about that.  He needs to slow the bleeding.  Quickly, he tears his shirt off and places it directly against the wound, pressing hard. 

            Steve grunts as he feels the pressure on the wound, the pain less now than just a few seconds ago and he knows he doesn’t have long.  He tries to shift, but he can’t move.  He can’t feel his legs. 

            “D’nny.  Cn’t move.  Cn’t feel legs.”  He mumbles out.  “M’gonna die.”  His voice is low and gravelly. 

            “No!  Don’t you dare give up on me, Steven!  We’re gonna be fine.  EMT’s should be here any second and they’ll patch you up, get you to the hospital where they will know exactly what to do with you.   They certainly see you enough.  Remember?  You are a danger magnet.”  He rambles, trying not to focus on the large, red pool forming under his knees.  “Come on, Steve.  I know you have some ninja trick to slow down your heart; keep it from beating so hard.  We need to slow the bleeding until they can get here.”  He looks wildly around the room, trying to see what else he can use.  He curses the decision to keep the rooms to a bare minimum.  Chair, small lockbox of extra cuffs and chains, and…wait!  A first aid kit.  Not much, but it’s something.  Danny looks back at his partner and decides he needs to take the chance. 

            “Steve, listen to me.”  He shakes him slightly, “Wake up, buddy.  I need you to hold this in place.  I need to get to the first aid kit.  Hopefully you listened to me and Chin and filled it with more than a couple of band-aids.”  He grabs Steve’s hands and places them over the soaked shirt.  “Come on, babe, just hold on to this.”  He pleads.  He feels Steve try and press down and he takes the chance.  Moving across the room, he yanks the kit from the wall and as he’s turning, the room goes dark.  Complete and utter darkness. 

            “What the fuck?  Jerry, what the hell is going on?”  He yells, hoping the geek king can hear him.  “Jerry?”  He carefully makes his way back to Steve.  “Jerry?  Can you hear me?”  Nothing. 

            As he kneels down next to Steve, the emergency lights come on and his vision is worse than it is under the blue lights, but at least he can see.  In the normal light, his partner looks worse than under the blue.  His face is pale and slack, no feeling or emotion at all.  He mouth is open, jaw slack and loose; his eyes closed and head leaning to one side.  He sees his chest rising and falling rapidly, almost a pant, and the pool beneath him still growing.  Only able to concentrate on one emergency at a time, he knows getting out of here won’t matter if he can’t stop the bleeding. 

            Opening the kit, he sighs, glad that this animal before him had listened to his team and packed the kit with some useful items.  The most useful being the combat gauze.  After so many years with this man, Danny has insisted that this be almost everywhere this man can go.  He even has some in the glove box of the Camaro.  Finally, it’s gonna come in handy and probably save his life. 

            Keeping up a constant flood of words, he tries to keep Steve engaged while hoping that Jerry can hear them and that maybe the power loss is centered on the basement only.  If it’s a total power loss, the doors should have opened and they haven’t.  That much he knows. 

            Not clear what he’s actually doing, he unpacks the gauze and packs it into the wound.  Tearing off his t-shirt, he puts the ‘clean’ shirt over it and keeps pressure on it, hoping the gauze will do its job enough to keep this stubborn man alive. 

            “Steve?  Can you hear me?  Come on, buddy, let me know you can hear me?”  He places his blood covered fingers against his throat and feels a thready, faint pulse.  He sighs at that, knowing the big man is still alive, but that relief is short lived as he hears a groan from behind him.

            “Motherfucker!  How the hell can he be conscious?”  He shouts, moving quickly.  He goes to the small lockbox, opens it and drags out the shackles.  Going to the body on the floor, he drags Akua over to the bolted chair and applies the chains, making sure his hands are tight to the legs and unable to manipulate them in any way.  He chains up his legs and neck and, after making sure everything is tight, goes back to his partners side. 

            “Open those eyes, Steve.  Come on, you can’t leave me down here alone with this psychopath.”  He looks around, it starting to sink in where his is.  He’s in a room with no windows, two levels underground with the power out and the doors locked tight.  The keypads will not work from the inside. 

            But that doesn’t compute and he goes to the door, trying the keypad. 

            Nothing.

            No sound; no door opening; no movement at all.  He looks up to where the camera is and waves at.  “Jerry!  We need help!  Steve’s been shot and it’s bad.  Get down here now with some help.  He’s not gonna last long.”  He screams. 

            He moves back down to his partner’s side, touching his face, trying to wake him up.  “Hey, Steve, wake up.  I need you to wake up now.  I know you are in there, you stubborn son-of-a-bitch.  Open those eyes.  Let me see you.  Come on, babe.”  He lightly taps Steve’s face. 

            He gets no reaction and he feels at the neck again, getting a very faint, but steady beat.  Looking at the wound, he sees less blood than before on his t-shirt and hopes it’s because the gauze is doing its job.  He sits back against the wall, breathing heavy and hard, looking around the room, his eyes wide and panicked. 

            Again, he looks up at the camera, pleading with his eyes that someone sees him and will get help down here.  He doesn’t understand why they’re not there yet.  It’s been over twenty minutes since Steve was shot and they should be here.  They should be here, packing up Steve and getting him to the hospital by now.  Why weren’t they here? 

            “Where are you?  Why aren’t you here?  You should be breaking down these doors by now to save him.  Why aren’t you?”  He says to the empty room.  He hears Akua stirring but ignores him.  “Where are you, Chin?  He needs help.  I need help.  I can’t do this.  This isn’t happening.  I can’t be down here like this.  Please, I need help.”  He pleads, looking up at the camera.  “Where are you?”  He mumbles as he feels his claustrophobia cover him like a blanket. 

 

TBC…..


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why can't they get down to rendition? Why have the doors locked when the power went out? What happens as Danny begins to realize that Steve just might not make it out of this situation?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, not a medical expert or psychological expert. Just my own experiences and feelings.

** Chapter Two **

 

            Jerry, watching the video of Danny and Steve interrogating the serial killer, looks up from the video to see who was still around.  They’ve been down there for hours, getting nothing more than the first five names.  He won’t give them the sixth or where they are buried.  He doesn’t understand why the guy is holding out, but it’s his time to stand watch.  It was something they had all agreed to after the last time someone got loose down there.  The last time the Palace was taken hostage.  Steve had insisted on a new security system and lockdown protocol and now someone always had to be watching while they interrogated any suspect or prisoner. 

            He sees Chin in his office and relaxes.  Chin will be taking over in a bit and he can go down to his “cave” and work his own cases.  He can hide down in the basement, away from the thunder and lightning crashing around them from this freak storm that just came in.  He hates thunder. 

            The scrape of a chair and the sound of a gunshot bring his focus back to the screen immediately and he stands in shock as he watches Steve go down and Danny shoot the suspect.  Seeing the suspect still moving around, he hits the ‘panic’ button on the table and the alarms go off as the Palace is locked down.  He sees Danny leaning over Steve, tearing his shirt off and using it as bandage.  He hears Danny screaming at Steve and then at him and he feels Chin move right next to him. 

            “What’s going on, Jerry?  Why have you locked down the Palace?”  Chin’s eyes are wild. 

            “Look…”  Jerry points at the screen.  Danny is kneeling next to Steve, keeping pressure on the wound in his abdomen.

            “What the hell?  What happened, Jerry?”  Chin swipes his fingers across the table, zooming in on Steve.

            “I just glanced away for a moment, Chin.  I heard the scraping of metal and then a gunshot and looked back to see the Commander on the floor, and Danny taking the suspect down.  I just followed the Commander’s new protocol.”  He looks worried, wondering if he did the right thing. 

            They are now locked in HQ.  All the doors coming and going lock down, but not the offices.  They cannot get down to rendition, but neither can anyone get out of it.  That’s the reason for the new security protocol.  Anyone trying to take the Palace hostage to get someone out will be locked in, unable to get to that person.  Only Steve and Danny have the codes to end the lockdown.  And they are both in the locked room. 

            Chin looks at Jerry and the panic and fear on his face and he knows he needs to calm him down.  “Its okay, Jer.  You did exactly what you were supposed to.  Steve will be proud.”  _If he makes it out of here alive._ “Jerry, can you get me down there?”

            Jerry’s fingers move across the table and he nods.  “I can unlock one door at a time.  Once you get through it, I will have to lock it again before I can open the next one.  But I can get you down there, yeah.”

            “Okay.”  Chin turns, opens the locker behind them and grabs a couple of radios.  “We need to stay in touch and the lockdown jams all cell reception.  Get me through the double doors here and then the stairs.” 

            “You got it.”  He types in a few things and they hear the doors unlock.  Chin moves quickly, out the doors and to the stairwell.  He listens and hears the ones behind him lock again and the one into the stairwell unlock.  He enters and heads down.

            “Check, check.  Jerry, do you read me?  Over.”  Jerry hears on the radio. 

            “Gotcha, Chin.  Over.”  He responds.  Looking back at the screen, he sees Danny go to the first aid kit and rip it off the wall. 

            At that moment, a loud boom and crack of lightning hits just outside the window and everything goes dark.  Jerry, not really liking the dark either, stands leaning on the table, not sure what to do.  He counts, waiting for the emergency power to kick in and when he reaches forty-five, the harsh glow of the emergency beacons flood the room and he watches the table.  He hopes it will come back up having not lost anything when switching over to battery power.  He soon sees the soft glow as the table boots back up and he sees the grainy images down in the rendition room.  It’s not as clear but he can see Danny leaning over Steve again, working on the wound.  He can’t see clearly, nor can he hear anything.  On back-up power, the table automatically shuts down what is deemed unnecessary and sound is not needed if they want pictures.  And Jerry feels seeing what’s going on is more important. 

            “Jerry?  Jer, what happened?  Over.”  He hears Chin on the radio. 

            “I think lightning struck the Palace, Chin.  It’s knocked out the power.  Where are you? Over.”

            “I’m at the basement door.  Can you open it?  Over.”

            “It should be open, Chin.  All the doors should be open.  Over.”  He watches as Danny brings out the chains and binds the suspect. 

            “Nothing, Jer.  It’s locked.  Can’t you unlock it?  Over.”

            Jerry types quickly across the table and nothing happens.  “I don’t know what’s going on, Chin.  They are all supposed to open when the power goes out.  Dammit, there must have been a short of some kind when the lightning hit.”  He pauses, watching as Danny all but curls up next to Steve.  “Chin, they’ve all shorted locked.  I can’t unlock them.  Maybe when we get full power back and the code.  Do you have the code?”

            “No, Jerry.  You know only McGarrett and Williams have that.  We’ll figure it out.  Maybe when the power comes back on they’ll reset themselves.”  Chin crosses his fingers.  If not, he has no idea how they’re gonna get Steve out of there.  He’s aware they are working against the clock, judging by what he could see of Steve’s injury and he heads back up to the second floor. 

            Jerry turns, hearing a knock on the glass doors.  He sees one of the guards from downstairs.  He walks over, motioning that the doors are locked. 

            “What’s going on, Jerry?”  He barely hears through the door.

            “Situation down in rendition.  Had to lock the place down.”

            “Why can’t we get out now?  Power’s out.  Doors should have unlocked, brah.”

            “Lightning strike.”  Jerry can see he’s getting impatient. 

            “Hey, Chin, I need you up here.  They’re coming up from the first floor.”

            “On my way, Jer.  Be right there.” 

            Jerry motions toward the stairs.  The guard turns just in time to see the door open and Chin walk out.  He turns and heads back to the table to see what’s happening down in rendition.

 

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

 

            Akua stirs again and Danny tries to focus.  He knows he can’t get out of those chains but he still needs to be on his guard. 

            “What the hell?”  Akua hisses, trying to move.  “What the hell have you done?”  He groans as his limited movements tear at the bullet hole in his back.  “Did you shoot me?  How dare you?!”  He moves his head, trying to find Danny.  “Where are you, you coward?  Let me see you!  Let me see your dead partner!?”  He screams out. 

            Danny sits completely still, not wanting to be seen.  This man, now that he’s awake, seems to take up so much of this room.  Without realizing it, he hand has found its way to Steve’s shoulder to ground himself. 

            “What did you think I was gonna do?  You shot my partner.  Of course I’m gonna shoot you.  My only question is, why are you still alive?” 

            Akua laughs.  “I have nine lives, Detective.  Unlike your partner there.  I’d say if he hasn’t lost this one yet, it’s not far away.  I was very specific about where I placed that bullet.  He should have bled out by now.  Maybe you better check him again.”  He relaxes on the floor, willing to bide his time.  He can already feel that the blood flow has slowed in his injury and now he just needs to wait until his chance to bring the little blonde detective down. 

            Danny had made sure the killer was nowhere near Steve so he couldn’t do any more damage and now that he was awake, he was glad he had shifted Steve.  Again, without thinking, he moves his fingers to his partner’s neck, feeling for the thready, but stable pulse.  That’s the only thing keeping him from losing it.  Being trapped down here is bad enough, but the thought of being trapped down here with one, maybe two dead bodies would be more than he can handle.  He shakes his head, pushing that thought aside and focusing on the issue at hand.  He glances up at the camera again, wondering why no one has come down; why the doors are locked if the power is out.  That’s not the way this security system is to work.  He specifically remembers that if the power goes out, all exit doors are to unlock so they can at least get down her and then get them out with the code.  But only he and Steve have the code.  Dammit!

            Ignoring the comments from Akua, he makes his way to the door again, trying to open it. 

            Nothing.  No movement at all.  He turns to the camera again, waving it, trying to let Jerry know they are in real trouble.  Stumbling back over to Steve, he curls up against the wall again, his hand on his partner’s neck, feeling the fast pulse beneath his fingers and keeping him grounded in the here and now.  Without it, he would get lost in his memories, phobias and anxiety.  The room seems smaller with every passing moment and he needs his partner to keep him from losing the battle with himself. 

            “No way out, huh?  Looks like we’re here, together for a bit.  Oh, this should be good.  We both get to watch your partner and boss bleed out and die.  That is always the best part.”  Akua shifts again and can now see the two of them out of the corner of his eye.  “Watching as death takes what’s his.  Seeing the light go out in their eyes.  But since the Commander’s eyes are closed, I guess we can just watch as his breathing slows and his beating heart finally stops.  Oh, how I wish I could be right there at your side, my hand on his chest as he takes his final breath.” 

            “Shut up.  Just shut up!”  Danny yells, not able to listen to his crowing any more.  “He’s gonna be just fine.  Which is more than I can say for you.”  He hisses, getting on his feet, pulling his gun out of his holster and training it on the bigger man.  “You won’t be saying anything else.”  He hooks his finger around the trigger, intent on putting a bullet right between his eyes.

            “Don’t do it, Danno.”  He hears, though it’s barely more than a whisper. 

            “Steve?”  He backs away, gun still on Akua. 

            “Don’t, Danno.  Not worth it.”  Steve hisses out, not moving, the words taking all of the energy he has just to get out. 

            “Steve, don’t.  Don’t speak.  Save your energy.”  He moves back to the wall, sliding down next to his best friend.  He places his hand on Steve chest.  “Don’t.  Just stay still.”  He whispers, his relief palpable that Steve is awake. 

            “What?”  He manages to say before Danny places a finger on his lips. 

            “What did I just say?  Don’t talk, Steven.  That means be quiet, you animal.”  He can feel a slight smile form under his finger and he sighs.  “Akua there managed to get loose, grab your gun, shoot you in the gut before I could put him down.  Jerry must have hit the alarms and locked this place down.  Now the power has gone out but the doors are still locked so I ‘m not sure what’s happening.  You have to hold on, Steve, until they get here.  I’m sure they know and are working on a way to get down here.  Now just nod, but did you let anyone know Duke also has the codes?”

            Steve shakes his head slightly and Danny’s hopes are dashed.  He hadn’t told anyone but he would’ve thought that Steve would have told someone else.  Upon hearing he hadn’t, Danny has no idea how they are going to get out.  And he needs to get out…SOON.  He’s barely holding it together.  Only Steve is keeping him grounded right now and if he loses consciousness again, Danny is sure he will spiral down into the depths of his phobia and be lost. 

            “Danny,” Steve murmurs.

            “Shhhh, Steve, save that energy.”  He scolds.

            Steve shakes his head.  “No.  You gotta keep it together, Danno.  You need to get out of here for Grace and Charlie.  They need their Danno.”  A small, deep cough follows those words. 

            “No.  No more, Steve.  Just shut up.  They need their Uncle Steve, too.” 

            “Awww, ain’t that cute.  When’s the wedding?”  Akua taunts them.  “Cause if it ain’t soon, it’s gonna be too late.”  He laughs.  A loud, deep belly laugh. 

            “Shut the fuck up!”  Danny yells, his sanity ready to snap.  He looks over and it feels as if he’s closer; that soon he’ll be able to touch the two of them; soon be able to finish the job he started earlier.  “Say another work and I swear, I’ll splatter your brains all over the floor.”  He stands, his gun pulled again, finger on the trigger.  “Just try me!” 

            Steve tries to reach out to him, grabbing weakly onto his pant leg.  Danny just shakes him off and moves out of reach. 

            “Come on, Akua.  Just one more word.  Tell me he’s gonna die.  Tell me I’m gonna die. I don’t care.  Just…one…word!”  He’s now standing over the man, hand dead still, finger squeezing the trigger. 

            Akua glances up, seeing the blonde man out of the corner of his eye and he knows he’s pushed too far.  He likes living on the edge, but he has no wish to die.  But he can’t resist pushing this detective. 

            “Does that mean the date is set?  The venue?  The dress?  I mean…” he doesn’t get another word out before Danny brings the gun down on his head again with as much force as he can muster.  He sees the blood spatter on the floor and his pants and he breathes heavy from the effort. 

            Standing over the unmoving form of Akua, he closes his eyes tightly, trying to bring his nerves and anxiety back under control.  Moving one foot past the other, he places a hand against the wall, leaning on it, feeling the sweat running down his face and dripping to the floor.

            “Danno?”

            “Dammit, stop, Steve.  Please.  I’m fine.”  He turns, placing his back against the wall and sliding down until his butt hits the floor.  He feels Steve reach out and weakly take his hand.  “Don’t, Steve.  Don’t say anything, all right?  I need you to come out of this on the other side.  Please.”  He says, defeat coming through in his voice. 

            Steve gives his hand a light squeeze, another cough breaking through.  Danny leans over and places his hand against Steve’s forehead and he can feel the heat.  _Shit!  He already has a fever.  Dammit, where are you, Chin!!_

            “Danno.”   He hears from Steve.

            “Steven McGarrett…”

            “Stop.”  Steve’s voice is cold.  “Do you think you can get the panel off the keypad?  Maybe you can short out the door and open it?  There might just be enough power to do that.”  He coughs again. 

            “You know I don’t know much about that.  I can barely fix a blown fuse at my house.  How am I gonna short out some complicated security system?”  his heavy breathing is back. 

            “Not gonna short the whole system.  Just the door.”

            “Still don’t know how to do that, Steven.  And you certainly can’t get over there to help.” 

            “No, but you can describe what you see and I can direct you.”

            “NO, NO, NO!  You don’t have the energy for that!  You need to conserve you’re energy so you can make it until someone fixes this damn system and gets us out of here.”

            “That doesn’t matter, Danny.  You need to get out.”

            “Where am I gonna go?  You know as well as I do that even if I get out of here, the other doors are still locked and I cannot short out each and every one of them.”  He glances wildly around, waving at the camera again.  “Dammit, Jerry, what is going on?”  he looks at his watch and notices it’s now been over an hour since things went to hell and his anxiety amps up. 

            “I’m sure they’re doing their best, Danny.” 

            “Do you ever listen to anyone, Steven?  Huh?  How many times do I have to tell you to keep your pie hole shut?  Please, just be quiet.  For just once in your miserable life can you listen to me and be quiet?  Just fucking shut up!”   A sob escapes his lips and before Steve can reach out for him, he moves away down the wall, bringing his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs and laying his head down on his knees. 

            Steve glances over and can see his entire body shaking and almost has to bite his tongue to keep from saying anything.  He knows how tough this situation is for Danny, being stuck in a room with no windows and no way to get out.  He wants to crawl over and take him in his arms and let him know everything will be all right, but he can’t.  Not because he doesn’t have the energy or the will.  No…he simply can’t.  He’s been trying for the last several minutes and he just can’t move.   He can’t feel anything below his waist.  He knows what that means.  The bullet has lodged in his spine.  If he’s moved, even the slightest, it could completely sever the cord, if it hasn’t already and he’ll never walk again.  He can’t live like that.  He’d rather be dead that in a wheelchair the rest of his life.  He knows it’s petty and small but he’s been so active all his life, if he were stuck in a chair, unable to do his job, he would go crazy.  If he doesn’t die now, he’d be sure to end it if that were to happen. 

            _I can’t let Danny know this.  If he finds out I can’t feel anything in my legs, he will completely lose it.  He’s just holding on now.  No, I can’t tell him that.  I need to make sure he makes it out of this room and back to his kids.  They need their Danno.  That needs to be my priority right now.  I can feel myself fading, anyway.  I don’t have long.  I know I’ve lost too much blood.  I’m cold, yet sweating; I can barely keep my eyes open, all I want to do is sleep; I can feel the infection racing through my body, finishing what the bullet couldn’t._

_I’m sorry, Danny.  Sorry I have to leave you like this.  I’ll do my damndest to survive to make sure you make it out of here in one piece.  After that, I can’t promise anything.  It’s gonna take everything I have to make it that long.  Forgive me._

 

TBC…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***running and hiding***


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny's sanity slips as Steve's life force drains from him. Chin and Jerry are working as hard as the can, but will it be in enough time?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is not giving me any rest.

** Chapter Three: **

 

            Chin looks around at the mob on the first floor.  The guards can barely keep them under control.  He stands on the marble stairs and yells, “Quiet!  I need quiet right now!”  in his loudest voice. 

            They all look up at him, most recognizing him as Five-0 and they turn to him. 

            “Listen, we’ve had a situation in the basement and the latest security protocol was put in effect.  Unfortunately, this storm has created another problem and shorted the system out and that is why the doors are locked.  No one is in any danger and we hope to have this corrected soon.  Please, be patient.  Thank you.”  He turns and goes back up to the second floor.  Pulling out the radio, he calls to Jerry.

            “Jerry, anything?”

            “We got a problem, Chin.  Danny is losing it.  He was ready to put another bullet in the suspect but he refrained and just brained him.  He’s unconscious right now, but Danny’s withdrawing.  I think Steve is conscious and trying to ground him, but it looks bad.  Chin, Steve’s not moving.  Not at all.”

            “Dammit.  Okay, listen.  I’m gonna see if I can get through to someone on HPD’s open channel.  If I can get Duke, maybe we can find out what’s going on outside and maybe get a timeline on the power.  I’ll be in touch.” 

            Chin starts flipping through the channels until he hears dispatch. 

            “HPD dispatch, this is Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly with Five-0.  I’m inside the Palace. Over.” 

            “We hear you, Lt. Kelly.  Is everyone okay in there?  Over.”

            “No.  We have two injured down in rendition.  One in serious condition.  Commander McGarrett has been shot and is in bad shape, from what we can see.  We have no contact with them, but we do have video.  We need assistance.  Over.”

            “Understood, Lieutenant, but we are unable to get in.  All exits are locked.  Is there any way to unlock them?  Over.” 

            “Not at this time.  We need full power back for that to happen.  Patch me through to Duke.  Over.” 

            “Copy that.  One minute.”

            Chin looks around, noticing that the crowd downstairs is a little calmer.  He hopes they can hold on until this is sorted. 

            “Chin?  This is Duke.  What the hell is going on?”

            Chin gives Duke a summary of what happened and then asks the big question.  “Duke, what’s going on out there?  Can they get the power back on any time soon?”

            “They’re working on it, but the lightning hit the transformer and then jumped to the Palace.  That’s why the whole place blacked out.  Knocked out the entire grid after that.  No time frame for when it will be fixed.”

            “Dammit, Duke, we need full power.  We’re hoping that the system will reboot itself once full power is restored and unlock all the doors.  Between you and I, Steve looks to be in bad shape and I don’t know how much time he has.”

            “I’ll see what I can do, Chin.  Give me five.” 

            “Okay.  I’m gonna see what Jerry has.  I need to keep him in the loop.  Since only Steve and Danny have the codes to unlock everything, we have to hope the reboot will work.”

            “Chin, I have the codes.  Didn’t Steve tell you?”

            “No, he didn’t Duke.  You can unlock all of this?”

            “Yeah.  Do you think it will work now?”

            “Let me check with Jerry and get back to you.  Go check with the power company and see how long before we have power restored.”

            “Copy that.”

            Chin switches back to Jerry. 

            “Jerry.  You there?”

            “Ready and waiting, Chin.  Whatcha got?”

            “Well, you were right.  The lightning blew the transformer and hit the Palace.  They’re working on it and Duke is seeing how long.”

            “Oh, that’s good news.  Cause I got some bad.”

            “What is it, Jer?”

            “Well, being on emergency power, we’re gonna lose video in about twenty minutes.  The table, to avoid losing any information, is gonna shut down before it crashes.  After that, we’ll be in the dark.”

            “Anything you can do?  We need to keep eyes on them!”

            “Sorry, Chin.  It’s hard-wired into the system.  If we don’t get full power, we’re gonna lose access until we do.”

            “If you had the codes now, could you unlock the doors?”

            “I could try, but I think, no.  They’re shorted out, Chin.  I don’t know if a full reboot will solve the problem, either.  If not, you may have to channel McGruff and blow your way in.” 

            “Dammit!  It can’t happen this way.  This is wrong.”  He looks down as the radio crackles.  “Okay, I’m going back to Duke.  See if you can stretch the video time.  We need to keep eyes on them.”  He switches back to Duke. 

            “Duke?”

            “I’m here, Chin.  I don’t have good news.  They’re saying at least forty-five minutes before they can restore power.”

            “No, that’s not good enough, Duke.  We’re gonna lose video in about twenty.  After that, we have no idea what’s going on or what we’ll find.  We need power back before that.  What about a couple of large generators?  More than just emergency power?  We need to be able to reboot this place.”

            “I’ll see what we can do.  I’m trying to get hold of the governor right now to push things along.  Maybe she can get them moving faster.  I know she won’t want to lose Steve…or Danny.” 

            “Push her, Duke.  I don’t think Steve has forty-five minutes left.  I refuse to let him go this way.  If we can’t get power in fifteen, I’m blowing my way in!”

            “Got it.  I’ll get back with you, Chin.”

            “Roger.”

            Chin takes in a deep breath.  He switches back to Jerry. 

            “Jerry?”

            “Here Chin.”

            “I need ideas, Jer.  Duke says it’s gonna be at least forty-five minutes before they can get power back.  He’s leaning on the governor, but I’m not sure she can make it happen.  It’s been almost an hour and a half since Steve was shot and I don’t think he has much time left.  I NEED ideas!”

            “I’m trying, Chin, but we never anticipated anything like this.  I mean, what are the chances of the Palace being hit by lightning while interrogating a prisoner and locking both of them down there?”

            Chin pauses for moment.  “Well, it’s Five-0, it’s here at the Palace; it involves Steve and Danny; and one of them is injured.  With all that, I’d say about two to one!”  He smiles at that thought.  Only with those two would this happen. 

            “Okay, Okay.  You’re right.  But outside of their world, the odds are astronomical.  It was not a scenario we even thought about.  I guess we need to think a little harder before we reset this system.”

            “Yeah, and despite Steve’s resistance, we ARE putting radios in the first aid kits.  I know he thinks they could be used against us, but this proves we need them down there since this system knocks out cell reception.”

            “Good idea.  Look, I’m trying to shut down any other unnecessary programs that are running right now to get more power and keep video up.  I’ll let you know.”

            “Copy that, Jer.”

 

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

 

            Danny looks at Steve and his anxiety amps up again.  On a scale of one to ten, he’s at about a nine.  And climbing.  He closes his eyes, trying to calm himself, remember what Mindy had told him that time in the elevator.  His mind is just fooling him and he’s okay.  They’re not running out of air; he’s not going to be trapped in here the rest of his life; they will get them out.  His panic is will they get the out before Steve…

            He can’t say.  Not even in his own mind.  He refuses to believe it.  No!  Steve will not die.  He can’t.  Danny doesn’t know what he will do if he loses Steve.  Oh, he’ll go on for his kids.  He knows that.  But his life just won’t be the same without the annoying, frustrating, stubborn, ninja Navy SEAL at his side.  He can’t imagine his future without Steve in it. 

            Swallowing hard, he slides back over to the injured man.  “Steve?”

            “Yeah.  Still here.”  He whispers.

            “You can’t leave me.  I can’t do this without you.”

            “I have no plans to go anywhere, Danno.”  He lies.

            “Don’t lie to me.  I need to know that you will fight.  I don’t care what happens, I need you to fight to stay here.  I need to know you’ll be here to help with those crazy kids you keep mentioning.”

            “I’m here, Danny.  Okay.  I have no plans on going anywhere.”  _At least, no plans on leaving this room._

            “Promise me you will fight?”

            Steve tries to take a deep breath and a hard, body-racking cough bursts from his mouth. 

            “Steve?”  Danny leans over him.  He looks at his t-shirt and notices a little more blood.  “Steve?”

            “I’m here.”  He grunts out.  He knows he’s fading and it’s getting harder and harder to stay in the moment.  His mind keeps wandering back over the last 7 years and all the good times with this team.  The ‘salt’ birthday cake; the first Christmas with Danny and Gracie; the charity fight and all their support; Danny catching his first tuna; the Pro-Bowl; all of Max’s Halloween costumes; Aunt Deb; his first case with Lou; the therapy sessions with Danny and so much that he can’t keep it all straight.  He thanks the fates that he accepted this job and stayed here on the island.  He’d been so lonely before and this task force gave him a family.  It gave him a reason to go on after the death of his father.  It’s what keeps him going now, lying here on the floor in rendition, making use of that drain everyone asks about.  His breath catches at that thought and for just a moment, he considers fighting through this, no matter the outcome.  The thought of leaving these people who took him in and gave him a family tugs at his soul and breaks his heart.  But he’s tired.  SO TIRED.  He’s never felt this tired before in his life.  He knows he’s going to die here, on this floor, but he has to hang on long enough to make sure Danny gets out with his mind intact.  So, he fights his way back to what his partner is saying, to focus on what’s going on right now. 

            “…and so I need you here.  I need you to be here for Grace and Charlie.  They love you, Steve.  You are more than just the uncle friend.  You are family.  Even my parents think so.  And you know they’ll kill me if you die on me.  So, don’t die.”

            “No plans to, Danny.  No plans.”  He mumbles.

            “Steve?”  Danny leans over him again, warm hand on his face.  “Wake up.  You can’t go!  Dammit, Steve, I can’t be down here alone.  Please…”  Danny begs and pleads, his voice breaking.  He looks around, his eyes wild and scared. 

            The room keeps getting smaller and the two bodies keep getting bigger.  He can feel his breath catching in his throat as the room shrinks.  It feels as though he’s suffocating and he can’t find any air.  The thought of sitting down here with Steve’s body…he can’t fathom it.  It’s too much.  He hates being in a room with a dead body to begin with, but to have to sit here until they get him out with Steve dead?  NO!  He can’t think about that.  He starts to hyperventilate just thinking about that.  He can’t lose Steve.  He gave him a reason to be on this rock.  More than just for his daughter.  He gave him friends and family and a job that he’s good at and he loves.  Yes, he loves being on this task force.  He’ll never admit it to anyone, especially the big lug lying next to him, but without this job, he’d probably be some beat cop in Vegas or some other crappy city, following Stan wherever he took Grace.  Steve helped to give him a reason to fight and keep Grace here.  He concentrates on his beautiful daughter and that calms him a bit.  Picturing her smiling face gives him a sense of wholeness, combined with this group and his breathing slows a bit. 

            He looks again at his partner and a grin crosses his face.  Just for a moment.  That’s when he notices.  His chest is not moving.  He reaches out to his neck and he doesn’t feel a pulse. 

            “NO! NO! NO!  You don’t get to leave me like this!  You promised!  You promised me and you don’t break your promises!”  He pulls the first aid kit to him and pulls out the small defibrillator.  Placing the pad after ripping open Steve’s shirt, he charges the machine and punches the button.  He watches as Steve’s body jerks slightly and listens for the machine.  Getting no working pulse, the machine primes to shock again and he punches the button again.  Still not getting anything, he waits while the machine charges again, his sanity slipping away from him.

 

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

 

            Jerry watches in horror as Danny shocks Steve. 

            “Chin!  Chin!  Come in, Chin!”  he yells into the handset. 

            “What?  Calm down, Jer.  What’s going on?”  Chin comes back.

            “He’s shocking him, Chin!  Danny’s shocking Steve!  He’s dying, Chin.  Steve’s dying and all I can do is stand here and watch.  I can’t do this, Chin!”

            Chin’s eyes get wide and wet at the same time.  He’d just checked in with Duke and the governor, once Duke got hold of her, was pushing the work crew to restore power to the Palace in any way they can.  She didn’t care about anything else.  This task force was important to this island and no one was going to be lost on her watch.  She’d backed this whole security system the Commander had wanted.  She even thought it was a good idea but now she’s having second thoughts with this whole situation.  She understands the the odds of all this happening were a million to one, but here they are and it’s happening now.  Once this is all over, she will sit down with the Commander and rework this entire system. 

            First things first…they need to get out of this situation.  She’d rushed over; she wanted to be onsite and she is in constant contact with Sergeant Lukela.  She watches as he talks to Lt. Kelly and his face tells her all she needs to know. 

            “Get that power up now!”  She yells at the foreman.  “We need that power now!  I don’t care how you do it, but you need to do it now!” 

            The foreman turns to his workers, pushing them harder.  He likes his job and he’ll be damned if he loses it over this.

 

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

 

            Danny starts to panic.  He listens to the machine as it charges up one more time, praying that it works this time.  If not, he knows that’s it.  He’s tried five times and the machine is calibrated to only make so many attempts.  As he watches the numbers increase, the tears fall freely from his eyes, falling on the backs of his hands and to the floor.  His sanity is slowly slipping away with every second that passes.  He’s trapped in this room, a psychopath having short his best friend and his best friend lying dead next to him.  He has to admit it.  Steve’s dead.  His heart, technically, is not beating even though the machine is still picking up a shock-able rhythm.  He’s not breathing; his chest is not moving.  His skin is clammy and cold; his face pale and lips blue.  He waits for the machine to tell him it’s ready.  One more time.  His hands are shaking and he can barely see anything for the tears in his eyes.  His sanity slips further away as he looks around, the room now the size of a closet.  He starts hyperventilating again as he knows they will never get out of this room alive.  At least, not Steve. 

            “Please, Steve.  You promised you’d fight.”  He cries, the tears falling freely.  “You said you weren’t going anywhere.  Don’t leave me here alone.  Not here.” 

            Time seems to slow down for Danny.  Out of the corner of his eye, he sees movement and he pushes back against the wall as Akua gets to his knees, turning to him and standing tall.  The chains fall away and he grins, evilly.  Danny watches his feet, one step at a time as he moves closer and closer to the two of them.  He whimpers as Akua moves closer, Steve’s gun suddenly appearing in his hand as he brings it to bear on, not Danny, but Steve. 

            “He’s already dead.  You don’t need to shoot him again!  You first bullet did its job!”  Danny screams, moving between the giant and his partner.   “Shooting him again will serve no purpose.” 

            Akua looks down, smiling at the fact that the task force leader is dead.  “Well, then, I guess I need to go for number eight!”  He points the SIG at Danny’s head and pulls the trigger. 

            “Ready…ready…ready…”  Danny hears, blinking his eyes and shaking his head. He glances around quickly, seeing Akua still out on the floor and the defibrillator screaming at him it’s ready to shock. 

            He tries to clear his head of the scene that just played out and he pushes the button.  Watching Steve’s body jerk on last time, his breath shudders on its way in as he waits…waits to see if the heart of his best friend starts again. 

 

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

 

            “We got it!”  The foreman yells as he tells the man back at the power plant to throw the switch.  For a split second, nothing happens and then the Palace lights up like a tree at Christmas, every light on in the building.  Chin, having gone back down to the basement with the two of the guards, waits.  He waits to see if the system reboots itself once full power is restored.  He hears snaps and pops and then the hum of the overhead lights as they come on, one by one, moving down the hall in a wave. 

            Seeing the panel in front of him light up, he types in the code to get into the basement…and nothing happens.  Huffing with impatience, he takes a deep breath and tries again.  Still nothing. 

            “Jerry?  What’s going on?”

            “Give it another thirty seconds, Chin.  This is a big system and takes a bit to move through the entire building.  Another fifteen…” 

            Chin counts to fifteen and then tries again.  For a moment, nothing happens and then, *click*, *beep* and the door opens. 

            Rushing through, he heads to the room where Steve and Danny are.  “Jerry, tell Duke to get the EMT’s downstairs immediately.  Your plan worked, we’re in.  Get the down her now.  What was your last twenty, Jerry?”

            “Was about five minutes ago, Chin.  Danny was still shocking him, though he looked terrified, as if someone else was in the room with him.”

            “Okay.  We’re there.  Get those EMT’s down here stat!” 

            Chin punches in the code to the room, hearing the click and then the beep and then the door opens.  Chin yanks it open, sprinting in and the sight he sees almost crushes him. 

            Danny’s leaning over Steve, tears flowing freely, rocking on his knees, his hands lying on Steve’s chest, the sobs filling the room.

 

TBC...

A/N:  One last chapter to go. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***hiding again***  
> Only one more short chapter to wrap this up. Please stay with me.


	4. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here is the finale...I hope you enjoyed this little story.

** Rendition:  Epilogue **

 

            Danny looks down at the grave, his eyes wandering up to the stone.  He shakes his head and wipes the loan tear from his face.  He looks up into the faces of Chin and Jerry and they nod. 

            Chin places a hand on Danny’s shoulder, “We’ll wait for you by the truck.  Take your time.”  He squeezes the shorter man’s arm and walks away. 

            Danny looks down at the grave again and sighs. 

            “You’d promised.  You laid there and promised me you would fight.”  He looks at the headstone.  “At least now, you can rest in peace.” 

His mind goes back the four weeks to that fateful day. 

                                    H50 H50

            He’d kneeled there, staring at the wall as he listened to all the commotion around him.  Chin had stood beside him, mumbling all kinds of platitudes to him while the EMT’s came in, wrapped Steve up and took him away.  He’d continued to kneel there as if the blood were glue, rooting him to the ground.  He couldn’t move.  He could still see Steve’s body lying there and he felt the need to protect it.  There were too many people in the small room and seeing his partner’s body there was the only thing keeping him sane.  He hadn’t even noticed when the blanket was put around his bare shoulders and Chin’s strong arms going around him, trying to pull him to his feet.  Unable to resist, he feels as his pants pull free from the sticky, gooey red puddle and the sucking, squelching sound as his pants freed themselves from the mass.  He didn’t even register the movement as they unshackled Akua, dragging him to his feet and placing the chains tight around his arms and torso.  Chin had turned Danny slightly, his arm still tight around his shoulder, waiting for them to get Akua out of the room. 

            “Guess I’ll just have to settle for seven.”  He laughs as they move him out in the hall. 

            Danny snapped at those words.  Throwing off the blanket, along with Chin’s arm, he moves with the speed of a cheetah, slamming Akua against the opposing wall, the muzzle of his gun just below Akua’s ear. 

            “You know you get just as much for six as you do for seven, don’t ya?  Yeah, that would normally be life in prison with no chance of ever stepping foot outside those walls again.  But add to it the murder or even attempted murder of a cop?  Add to that the fact that this is the governor’s special task force and that just moved it from life to automatic death penalty.  Yeah, you will die in prison, and if they’ll let me, I will be the one to press that button.  I will gladly stand there and look you in the eye while I do.”  He presses the muzzle tighter against Akua’s head.  “I will be more than happy to provide that service for free.  Right here, right now.”  His finger hooks around the trigger. 

            “Danny…brah, don’t.  You don’t wanna do it this way.”  Chin says, his voice in his ear and hand on his shoulder. 

            “He doesn’t even deserve a trial, Chin.  You saw what he did.  It’s all been recorded.  I should’ve put him down like the dog that he is.”

            “I don’t disagree with you, Danny, but not now.  He’s not going anywhere…he’s not getting away with anything.  As you said, this situation adds special circumstances.  Automatic death penalty.  He’s done.”

            Danny breathes heavy.  Biting his lower lip, he draws back his hand, takes his finger off the trigger and flips on the safety. 

            “I knew you couldn’t do it.  Can’t even exact revenge for your ‘partners’ death.  No wonder he broke his promise.”  Akua says, smiling big.

            Before anyone can stop him, Danny brings his gun down on Akua’s face, splitting his cheek wide open, most likely breaking his nose and cracking his jaw. 

            “What the fuck?  You all saw that!  He can’t do that!”  Akua yells, hoping to turn this into a negotiation…a hope to get the death penalty off the table. 

            “Saw what?”  Chin replies, looking around. 

            “He hit me for no reason.  I’m shackled.  I’m no threat.  He had no right to do that.”

            “I didn’t see any such thing.”  Chin says as he places the blanket back over Danny’s shoulders.  “I saw you trip over your own big feet and run face first into the wall.  What about you guys?” 

            The four HPD officers standing around all nod, agreeing with Chin. 

            “No, no.  The cameras will show everything.”

            Chin leans in close, “Brah, the cameras haven’t come online yet.  They’re still rebooting.”  He whispers before stepping back, an arm around Danny again and guides him to the elevator.  “Let’s go.  You need to get out of here and let the EMT’s upstairs check you out.” 

            Danny nods, his energy and will suddenly gone.  He allows Chin to manhandle him into the elevator, not even noticing the small room and up to the ground floor.   As the doors open, he can hear all the voices and noise of a large crowd of people and he pulls back. 

            “No.  I can’t go out there, Chin.  I can’t face all those people.”

            “I got it, Danny.  Let’s go this way and we can avoid them all.  We’ll go out the back way.  I requested a rig out back.  I figured.” 

            Danny smiles at the Hawaiian, so glad he knows him so well. 

                        H50 H50 H50

            “I sat there while they checked me over, looking for any wounds or injuries, but there were none.  At least, none that were visible.”  He kneels down, placing the lone flower he had in his hands between the two that Chin and Jerry had placed on the grave. 

            “Dammit, Steve, you gave up!  You said to me you would fight but you gave up!  You left me all alone in that hellhole with that psychopath.  I lost it, Steve.  When your heart stopped, I lost it.  I tried.  God, I tried.  I used that damn defibrillator until it wouldn’t charge anymore.  I tried CPR, mouth-to-mouth, everything I could think of the get that damn heart of yours beating again.”  A sob leaves his throat.  He stands back up again, backing away from the grave. 

            “I don’t know what I’ll do without you.  I can’t see my future without you in it.  I lost Mattie, Steve, and losing you?  Well, it’s too much.”

            Danny feels a hand take his and squeeze tight.  “I guess you’ll never have to find out, will you?”  A deep, smooth voice says from just behind him. 

            Danny turns to face the man sitting in the folding chair.  “No, I guess I won’t.”  He smiles down at his best friend.  Steve smiles back, squeezing the hand one more time.  He looks at the headstone and Danny follows his gaze. 

            “Caroline Stephens.  Number six.  At least she’s been given a proper burial.”  Steve comments, reading the name on the stone.  Akua had finally given her name and where she was buried last week in a last ditch attempt at a deal.  The only thing this got him was to live like a king for his last days.  The governor had fast-tracked his trial and he was found guilty.  Adding the charges of attempted murder of two members of the governor’s task force, the death penalty had been automatic.  His execution was scheduled for two months from today.  That’s why they were here.  She’d been ‘properly’ buried the day before but Steve hadn’t been released from the hospital until this morning.   He’d been very vocal about coming here.  He needed to see her laid to rest and the doctor had agreed it would be good for him.  Danny needed it, too.  They both needed to address what had happened, talk about all they hadn’t said and then try and move on. 

            Steve had fought against any kind of therapy after his last foray into that world but realized it was needed when he couldn’t put into words what he needed to say to Danny; what he wanted to say to Danny.  So for the last two weeks, they’d been working with a very nice, very good therapist and this field trip had been warranted. 

            “You ready?”  Danny asks, still looking down at the grave.

            “Yeah.  I think I am.”  Steve lets go of his hand and grabs his crutches.  He’d been VERY lucky.  The bullet had lodged in his spine, but had not severed the cord.  As if someone was looking out for him, when Danny had shocked him back to the land of the living, that small movement had shifted the bullet away from the cord and, in essence, gave Steve a chance to walk again.  Oh, there had been days of fear, waiting for the swelling to subside, but when it had, the feeling started coming back and soon he was wiggling his toes.  Danny had broken down the first time he saw Steve wiggle his toes and had been given a moderate sedative.  Steve smiles as he stands, biting back the pain which has become a part of every day and thinks of the reaction Danny had to his big toe wiggling.  He’d thought it was the best thing since sliced bread and he let everyone know. 

            Standing now, leaning on the crutches for support, he nods toward the truck and follows slowly over. 

            Chin and Jerry, already in the back seat, smile as the come over, the bond they now share stronger than ever.  Steve waits as Danny opens the passenger door, his patience and acceptance of any and all help better than in the past.  He can accept that he will need help for the foreseeable future and he’s more than willing to accept it from these three.  After all, they’d saved his life. 

            Pausing for a moment before getting up into the seat, he looks Danny in the eye.    “I promise, from now on, I will NEVER give up.  Never again.”  He’s sees the acceptance on Danny’s face and he sighs.  “Thank you, Danny.  I mean it.”  He turns and climbs up into the cab.  Holding the door for just another second, he looks down, “I love you, buddy.”

            Danny clears his throat, those last few words meaning more to him than anything anyone has ever said to him. 

            A big grin crossing his face, he looks up into those beautiful hazel eyes and chuckles. 

           “And I hate you so much right now.” 

 

The End. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any thoughts???


End file.
